NBC's The Player Promises '80s Action Fun

NBC's new thriller The Player - created by John Rogers (Leverage) - stars Strike Back's Philip Winchester as a former military operative who becomes a reluctant pawn in a perverse game of chance. Wesley Snipes co-stars as the mysterious "pit boss" of a giant game where the stakes are measured in criminal acts and human lives.

Winchester, Snipes, and Rogers all appeared at the TCA Press Tour to answer questions about their series - which premieres September 14th on NBC - and talk about how it marks the return of super-up action movies and TV shows from the past.

"'Ridiculous' is a valid, artistic choice," joked Rogers about The Player's heightened premise. "'Pulp' is the word we really landed on when we were developing the show. You know, to me Shonda Rhimes is 'pulp.' 'Pulp' is any story that's high velocity, big characters making big decisions, big emotional stakes, and every episode is a thrill ride. And it doesn't matter what context it is. We just decided to do it within the genre of action. And, nicely enough, we've all done a lot of action. And, of course, Wesley has done a lot of action, Philip has done a lot of action, our stunt guys are some of the best in the business. So we all have a very good idea of what you can really do and what goes overboard, mostly when Philip and the stunt guys and Wesley are really doing it. So we want to be very careful about that. But, look, you're showing up to have a good time and have your fun ride, so we're going to knock your socks off every week."

Winchester, who spent the last handful of years as Michael Stonebridge on Cinemax's explosive Strike Back, spoke about whether or not there were any restraints on him doing his own stunts for The Player. "There are rules that let you do things and don't let you do other things," he said. "On Strike Back, we got to do a lot more stuff when we were in South Africa. Or Budapest. But, having said that, NBC and Sony have been amazing, and they said, 'If you want to get in there and ride that bike, you want to do that stuff, go ahead.' So we're pushing that out. This is a show where we're bringing back '80s action and we're putting it television on a Thursday night."

"When we created the show, it was really, 'Let's do a big showcase,'" Rogers explained, of his collaboration with co-executive producer John Fox. "'Let's do a big kick‑in‑the‑doors action sequence or two.' It's kind of averaging out to three an episode. And the type of show supports that is a big pulp high-concept show, with a big fun conspiracy for the audiences to figure it out. And really great characters who are not just super capable, but also don't much trust or like each other for a good, long chunk of the show. So they have their own rivalries and dangers along with it."

"Philip's experience, doing Strike Back, was crucial for the pilot," Rogers continued. "We were lucky enough to get Wesley, who is, of course, a fantastic martial artist. The stunt guys had a very easy day the day they had their fight. They just kind of sat over and had coffee while the two of them tussled."

Snipes, who plays the enigmatic Mr. Johnson, then talked about his transition from movies to TV. "The biggest challenge was to be on the show that you like and that you're intrigued by," he said. "What they've put together was something that I was highly intrigued by. The premise itself is intriguing, but the idea of playing a character that's somewhat ambiguous, somewhat mysterious, that is manna from heaven for an actor, and also gives me an opportunity to explore some other type of character development, languages. The biggest concern is how much time I would have still to focus on feature film. And thankfully with these guys, they were able to work it out in a way where I can focus on this, and still do some movie-star stuff every now and then."

Check out IGN's exclusive interview with Wesley Snipes and Philip Winchester from Comic-Con...